Radio station WELW to change name after 50 years on the air

Station President and General Manager Ray Somich, center, and Ellen Foley Kessler, right, host "Wake Up, Lake County!" on March 28 at WELW 1330 AM in Willoughby. The station celebrated its 50th anniversary Friday. At left is Gina Taddeo Aliberti, host of "Sincerely Elvis."

When radio listeners tune in to 1330 AM on Monday morning, they will hear the same familiar voices and programs they’ve come to expect, albeit under a different name.
Beginning March 31 at 7 a.m., the station that has been known as WELW for 50 years will officially change its call sign to WINT.
President and general manager of the station Ray Somich said the decision to relaunch as “integrity radio,” hence the INT in the call sign, comes along with a new simulcast on an FM station as well as expansion and improvement of the AM signal.
“We’ve acquired the license, but we are working on the building component. So that will be done later this summer,” Somich said.
When the improvements are completed, Somich expects the signal to cover the entirety of Lake County and most of Cuyahoga County.
“It’s really time to relaunch this radio station. We also wanted to really let people know how important integrity is to us,” he said.
Where exactly the FM station will be on the dial is still unknown, but those who listen online will also continue to be able enjoy the station. The website address will change to wintradio.com, but the same functionality will remain and the old address of welw.com will redirect to the new site for the foreseeable future, he said.
While the current programming, which features local and national talk, local sports including the Lake County Captains, and nationality programming on weekends such as the long-running Tony Petkovsek polka show, will stay the same, Somich said people will hear a difference.
“There will be a different attitude, a different passion that I believe is going to come through,” he said. “We want to be a different one. We want to be a special one... We also want to be the one that adds the most value to the community.”
This community involvement has been essential in keeping the station alive for five decades, especially since 1990 when the current ownership group took over, said Somich.
Additionally, he contended that there has been some divine intervention that has allowed the station to thrive.
“Over and over again, things just happen. Things just fall into place that you don’t expect just at the right time,” he said. “There’s always been a measure of faith with the station.”
Built in 1964 on an 11-acre property, the WELW call sign came from the two cities that the property sits in: Willoughby and Eastlake. Only 1 acre is in Willoughby, but the property has a Willoughby address. The remaining 10 are in Eastlake.
“It was a way that both communities got the station and both the mayors were satisfied,” Somich said. “When it went on the air it was hoping to be listener-supported religious programs. From what I understand, that lasted all of a couple of months and they couldn’t pay the bills.”
The station went through numerous format changes throughout the years, including playing Top 40, jazz, country and big band music. The station received three gold records for being one of the first to play songs that went on to become nationwide hits: “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” by Steam, “Snowbird” by Anne Murray and “Close to You” by the Carpenters.
The improvements will take a significant monetary investment to complete in the short term, but Somich is confident that the business will get a long-term return on investment.
“We are working with some outside investors who believe in what we are doing and believe in good, local community radio, so we’re getting their support to help make this possible.”
The station broadcast a reunion show the morning of March 28 with many WELW personalities from the past and then held a celebration at the Holiday Inn in Mentor later that evening where they publicly announced the changes for the first time.
“We wanted to make sure to honor the past but we’re very excited about where we can go in the future,” Somich said. “(Integrity) is what brand we wanted to establish for us going forward, so people can trust us and know that we’re they’re for them and what we do and say matters.”

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